His remarks came just hours after The Wall Street Journal's editorial board warned Republicans against supporting Trump's reported plan to declare a national emergency in order to allocate funding for construction of a border wall, arguing that Democrats would later use the precedent set by Trump.

"If Mr. Trump did win in court, a President Elizabeth Warren might take the precedent as license to circumvent Congress whenever it is politically expedient," the editorial board wrote. "Rising carbon emissions or even income inequality could be declared national emergencies."

Trump this week visited the U.S.-Mexico border, where he reiterated his demand for constructing a wall to address issues such as illegal migration and the importation of illegal drugs, which primarily occur at legal ports of entry.

A partial government shutdown that began Dec. 22 is now in its 21st day as Trump and congressional Democrats remain at an impasse over funding for the president's proposed wall.